Blood Lust and Tea Leaves
by Rikoki
Summary: WARNING: Inuzuka Kiba x Hyuuga Neji. Sometimes it takes the most extreme circumstances for even a Hyuuga to see what's right in front of him. Rated for content, language, and adult themes. R & R
1. Chapter 1 Hokage

**DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT own Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji, or any of the other related characters. **

Enjoy!

--------------------

**Blood, Lust, and Tea Leaves**

A Kiba / Neji Fanfiction

The council had closed themselves away behind the heavy oak doors of the Hokage's chambers nearly 46 hours ago, and the Clan heads were becoming impatient and restless. Tsume's fidgeting was becoming especially annoying, if you were to ask Hyuuga Hiashi - who's eye twitched every time Tsume's fingers drummed the tabletop.

"Really Inuzuka; can't you keep still for just a few moments?"

She growled, a little louder than she had meant to. "I wouldn't be so damned anxious if them elders would just PICK someone! How hard is it to-"

"To decide upon the identity of the sixth Hokage? You know, I really can't imagine why they deem it necessary to extend _thought _into their decision. After all, the Inuzuka have been rash and impulsive for centuries, and they've - oh wait. They're _sentinels_."

Tsume might have ripped his throat out, if Kakashi hadn't wrapped his hand around her wrist. He whispered something, a quiet order, before releasing her.

Akimichi Chouza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inochi had taken three chairs from the table and sat near the back of the room; and if you didn't know them you might have thought they were talking sensibly about Tsunade's death. You would be wrong, of course.

"So do y'think they'll let him?"

"Uzumaki? You've got to be kidding, Chouza." Shikaku took a long drag from his cigarette before turning back toward the group. "He's only 19, after all - and with Sasuke's return to Konoha under his recomendation and Tsunade's approval? I'd bet my bet stag they're gonna stick the hat on either Hatake's head or..."

He paused again, this time raising a brown leather flask to his mouth - something that smelled an awful lot like moonshine, from where Inochi sat.

"On who, Shika?"

"Well, I'm thinking maybe they'll give it to the Hyuuga."

Both men nearly doubled over, exchanging shocked looks. "You don't mean Hiashi, Shika? They couldn't be that blind!"

"He can't read lips, can he?"

Inochi pointed over his shoulder, where Hiashi had turned to face the group. Shikaku shook his head, raising the flask again. "Naaah, he's just a nosy fucker. Didn't you hear about that huge donation he gave the council last month? He's got his fingers in everything around here anymore - thinks if he's sittin' pretty with the elders, they'll give him the whole damned village."

No one laughed. Mostly because they figured he was probably right.

Tsume jumped nearly a foot out of her chair when the doors opened, and four wrinkled old bastards filed out of the room.

Among them, smiling and full of himself, was Danzou. Tsume hated Danzou.

"After taking both the good of Konohagakure, and the good of it's allied villages into account, as well as the period of peace we have sustained under the fifth Hokage, we have decided-"

Shikaku couldn't help but notice that Hyuuga Hiashi was holding his breath. So was he, come to think about it - and so was everyone else with sense in their head.

"To ask Uzumaki Naruto if he might take his place as sixth Hokage of Konohagakure."

Nobody breathed. Nobody spoke, nobody moved,

and the council never smiled.

Shikaku did - in fact, he had to take a long drag from his cigarette to keep from laughing out loud. "A wise choice, elder Shido - the boy's good to his word."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to politely disagree with the elders' decision."

And the room exhaled all at once.

"I beg your pardon, Hiashi?"

Danzou spoke now, sounding almost offended.

"With all do respect, I don't believe your decision was in good judgement."

"He's the fourth Hokage's son! It's his rightful place."

"Blood alone does not make him right for the job."

"It has always been enough for the Hyuuga family."

"You're just pissy because it aint going to you, Hyuuga."

"Nara Shikaku! You are out of line!"

"And you're out of luck, Hiashi. Just accept their damned decision so we can go home."

Outvoted and indignant, Hiashi sat down - and Tsume smacked his hand with amusement as soon as she noticed his fingers drumming against the tabletop.

----------------------------

"You're fucking kidding me."

Naruto hadn't said a word since Sakura had given him the news, but Sasuke on the other hand had begun to swear holes in the walls.

"HE gets to be Hokage? After...after everything!"

"Keep in mind that it was either Naruto or Neji's uncle...I don't think even Danzou hates Konoha THAT much."

Kiba shook his head, running a hand through his bangs to keep them out of his face. "I'm happy you finally get what you've always wanted, Naruto - but aren't you guys worried that Root might be up to something? Wasn't Danzou the one that sent Sai to work with Orochimaru?"

"That was a long time ago, Kiba. Almost 3 years come to think of it - and maybe the council was left with no other choice? Still....Naruto, I'm not sure if should trust-"

"I don't care why they did it - I'm saying yes."

Sakura looked as if she had been slapped in the face. "Have you been listening to a thing we've said? Even Kiba-"

"Oh no, don't drag me into this - I think he should fucking take it! Naruto, this is your dream - far be it for me to keep it from you with," he exhaled through his teeth, chuckling slightly. "Logic."

"Sasuke! Help me, here!"

The Uchiha shrugged, wrapping Naruto's arm around his shoulder. "If Naruto takes the position, then I might get my seat in the council back. Why would I help you?"

Naruto smiled, hugging Sasuke tightly to him. "And you can be my consort."

"I'll hit you."

Naruto attempted a wink - something that looked more like a small facial seizure. "I might like it."

Sakura made an almost inaudible gagging sound, which made Kiba choke on the ration bar he had been eating. "Seriously. Could you two get any more gross?"

"When you and Lee stop making those kissy faces across the training arena at each other, we'll talk."

She turned a deep shade of red, which only made Kiba laugh harder. "I outta hang around you guys more often, y'know?"

"Where IS your team, Kiba?"

The Inuzuka shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "They're around - I think Shino had some clan business, and Hinata's been following her dad everywhere since the Council made the announcement. I guess he was sore over the decision."

"Yeah, along with half the village."

Naruto frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"Because, dead last - they still think you're a demon."

"_I'm _not the demon, asshole. I'm the con-tain-er." He rolled his eyes, as if it were obvious. And if you knew him, it would be.

Sasuke ignored him, turning to face Kiba instead. "Do you think Hinata's father might know something about this?"

"I don't think so. Remember? I told you he was-"

"That doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't suspect they might do this. Maybe that's why he's so angry at the council in the first place."

Kiba sneered, shaking his head. "I think you guys are reading too much into all this - what's so wrong with Naruto being Hokage?"

"YEAH?! What's wrong with me-"

"It's not that there's anything _wrong _with it - it's just unexpected. The council likes to do things according to custom - meaning that someone like Kakashi would-"

"Kakashi _Sensei."_

"Fine. Call him what you want - as far as the council is concerned, HE should be Hokage. Not Naruto."

"Oh fuck, thanks a lot guys."

Kiba kept pretty quiet - he had kneeled down to pull something out of Akamaru's fur, but took the time to answer anyway. "Guess you're right - but I still don't know if Hinata'd even tell me if something was up."

"She's your team mate!"

He growled at Sasuke. "And you were theirs," he gestured toward Sakura and Naruto, who looked dumbstruck; "but aint it funny how your family was more important?"

If Kiba had been half as confident (and half his size) Sasuke might have strangled him. "This is not the same."

"Why? Because Hinata's weaker? He's still her dad, guys - Don't get me wrong. I'll give it a try; but I'm not making any promises."

He never took the time to wait for a response - Climbing onto Akamaru, Kiba took off toward the North border.

Naruto's hand shot into the air - a delayed wave goodbye. "I think that went well!"

Sasuke's head met the wall, while Naruto started walking toward the main Council building.

"...If he thought _that _ went well, I can just imagine our diplomatic interventions...."


	2. Chapter 2 Hyuuga Compound

Kiba had been waiting outside of the Hyuuga compound for almost 2 hours now; and if one more Hyuuga looked at him _that_ way again, he'd probably spit in their eye.

He smiled when he finally saw Hinata on the edge of the meditation pond.

"HEY! 'Nata!"

It actually seemed to take her a minute to find him; like the giant white dog wasn't a mile marker all by himself.

"Hi, Kiba."

"What's the matter with you? You sound horrible - no offense or nothin'."

She shook her head, focused on the surface of the water. "I'm just fine, Kiba. Can....Kiba? Is there anyway I could, maybe...talk to you about something?"

Not going to lie, he was pretty confused by the whole thing - but what could it hurt to listen? Maybe she wanted to talk about her dad. Maybe.

"Yeah, sure."

Hinata turned away from the pond, facing Kiba directly - and, wow - was she mad?

"I'm not.....well, I'm not stupid, Kiba - I know why you're here."

Kiba stopped breathing, just for a second - which was probably enough to convict him. "Y'do?"

"Yes. I do."

There she went again, staring at that pond. He had a feeling meeting her here was a bad idea. Since-

"Did you know that my mother drowned here? They told me that after Hanabi was born, she slipped here." Hinata marked a spot in the sand beside her, tracing what looked like a butterfly. "And she died."

Kiba wasn't following - what did this have to do with her dad? As sad as the story was, she'd told him about it a long ass time ago - and hadn't they decided that it was probably a lie, anyway?

"He's all I have left, Kiba. My father cares for me."

Oh shit. Did he just laugh?

"It's _not _funny, Kiba! He...he believes in me now. I'm going to be just like him someday - I'll be clan head, and-"

"Don't be dense. C'mon Hinata - you know that Hanabi-"

"She's the second born. He told me so."

And now she was believing everything he told her? What was going on here?"

"Are you feeling alright, 'Nata?"

"Why? Do I have to be sick now to rationalize defending my father?"

He didn't answer that; it seemed too much like a double-edged sword. She never waited for an answer.

"I think that you should go. You're going to be late for Naruto's coronation."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "You aint coming?!"

Suddenly, she was shielding her eyes - burying her head between her knees. "No."

Now he knew something was really reeeally wrong. She was Naruto's biggest fan. "Is this about Sasuke?"

"No."

"Is it something he did?"

"No."

"...And you're sure that you're not sick?"

"Yes!"

Her answers were muffled, but here was no mistaking them - not with Kiba's ears.

"Then...why --?"

"Father doesn't think it's a good idea for us to support the council's decision this time. He says that as happy as he is that Naruto made Hokage, he says that the Council appointed him for the wrong reasons."

Bullshit, and Kiba knew it. But it was just the kind of lie he could see Hiashi feeding her.

There was no use pushing her anymore. She was....fucking brainwashed, or as good as by now.

"I outta get going."

Hinata grabbed at his jacket, catching the sleeve. "Wait?! Please....please wish him luck. For me?"

And Kiba couldn't help but smile - even though it was still bullshit.

---------------

Speaking of bullshit - who the hell designed the Hyuuga compound, anyway?

You had to be a Hyuuga to get out of it! The buildings made finding a path nearly impossible, not to mention a serious lack of "You are here" signs. Kiba loved those stupid things.

"Inuzuka?"

Akamaru hadn't heard that coming - in fact, he accidently knocked Kiba off his back in the process of turning to face-

"Neji?"

He hadn't really seen Neji since right after Sasuke came back - almost a year ago now. He remembered, because both he and Neji had seats on the council, since they had taken exams with the Uchiha.

Kiba couldn't remember how Neji voted, but he figured it wasn't important anymore.

"Any reason you scared my partner like that?"

"My apologies to your...."partner." Any particular reason you're wandering aimlessly across my compound?"

"I, well - I was on my way to. Um. What I'm trying to say, I was-"

"Incomprehensibly lost?"

What had he just said? "Yeah. Sure, that's it."

Neji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "You'd think, growing up in Konohagakure, you'd at least know the geography by now."

"Hey, HEY! This compound is totally not my business. I don't 'gotta know it!"

"And pray tell, what were you doing wandering it?"

"I was talking to Hinata! Y'know - my team mate?" Maybe that last statement had been a little more sarcastic than Kiba had meant.

Neji's demeanor changed noticeably - his expression shifting from condescending to...something.

"Oh...right. Forgive me for prying, then."

Well this was awkward.

"So...I figure you're going to Naruto's acceptance thing, right? Y'know - the, um -?"

"Coronation?"

Did ALL Hyuuga know that word? Kiba had to get the hell out of this compound - he was actually starting to feel a little stupid.

That may have just been the way other Hyuuga had been looking at him, though - Inuzuka and Hyuuga had never particularly gotten along so great. In fact, Tsume had been officially expelled from the monthly House-head congregations - where they usually discussed village affairs. As Kiba knew it, his mom had taken the liberty of getting shit-faced and mouthing off to Hiashi during the meeting. Not too classy, but she got her point across - and she made sure to let everyone know that she thought he was a half-eaten boar's ass with glass beads for eyes, plastic ones for brains, and none for balls.

Neji didn't seem too phased by the stigma though. Maybe because Kiba hadn't called him a boar. Yet.

"Hey, Neji? You don't know what's wrong with Hinata, do you? She's been acting kind of weird since her dad got back - and she aint even coming to the coro...whatever!"

"It's not my place."

Could this guy be any more stiff? Seriously - even they way he walked was stuck-up.

On second thought...Jesus, how do you even _get _an ass like that?

"I see that."

Fuck fuck fuck! Kiba hadn't even realized he was,

was he just looking at - ?

Did he just - ?!

"See what?"

"I would appreciate it if you could keep your eyes to yourself."

Kiba turned a very bright shade of red, and pretty much stared at the ground the rest of the way to the Kage Memorial.

He never stopped smiling.


	3. Chapter 3 ANBU

The ceremony was, at best, boring as hell.

Nobody was more comfortable with admitting this than Kiba.

"Yes, but did you _have _to be so disrespectful?"

"Shino, think about it - it was a 5 and a half hour ceremony dedicated to a dead woman and Naruto getting a hat."

"There was food."

Kiba laughed, nodding in approval. "Yeah, guess there was - I'm just saying, my attention span aint that great anyway. Especially with Akamaru being so restless and all."

"...you should have left him with your mother."

"Hell no! He's my other half, y'know. We don't do anything apart anymore."

"Is that so?"

Both Kiba and Shino jumped, not expecting someone to listen in. "Hyuuga? What are you doing here?"

Neji raised a hand to his mouth, chuckling. "Just thought that I might see Hinata here. So she decided not to attend the coronation with her team?"

"Nah, she had something else to do. Something....more important, I guess."

"You mean she decided to stay with her father?"

Shino remained quiet, turning to Kiba again - like he could lie their way out of this one.

"That aint true, Neji."

"Of course it's not. That's why your heartbeat is increasing so dramatically - telling the truth just _gets you off._"

He ran a hand over his hair, straightening it as he passed them. "Tell her, whenever you see her, that I would like to meet with her this evening. It's important, Inuzuka - please make sure she hears that?"

It took a good 3 minutes after Neji had walked away for Kiba to respond.

"Yeah, well - WHATEVER!"

Shino just shook his head. "And I couldn't be on a team with-"

"Don't even go there, jitterbug."

They never noticed the ANBU op, who seemed to slink past them toward the Hyuuga compound seconds after Neji.

--------------------

Konoha's first night under Naruto's command was,

well let's be realistic - there was no immediate threat to the village, but there was plenty of paperwork; something nobody had, apparently, warned Naruto about. "Aw man! This is worse than drills!"

Kiba had been called to Naruto's big fancy new room over an hour ago, and so far Naruto's only real explanation had been 2 origami frogs, a card castle, about a dozen unsigned documents (all labeled 'high priority') and Naruto's retarded smile.

"Hokage-sama...was there even something that you wanted?"

"You mean you don't just want to...hang out?"

"Not really, man - it's um...kinda awkward now, actually." Kiba had taken a seat closest to the desk, wrapping his finger 'round and 'round a piece of thread he had found.

"Well jeez, talk about an asshole - yeah there was something.....um....."

Naruto shrunk back to his desk, tossing stacks of paperwork everywhere. "Yeah yeah, Sakura thought it might be a good idea if you took border watch tonight. The North border, I think?"

Kiba's jaw dropped. "The border with Sound? Did.....have we heard something?"

"No no! It might just be nice to have someone watching it, I guess."

"....you're kidding. You're stickin' me with a cold shift?" Cold shifts sucked. Usually, they were nothing but wild animals, drunken shinobi, and kids who thought they could get away with border-hopping for kicks.

"It's not that bad, you know - I'll bet you'll find lots of stuff!"

"....stuff?"

Naruto scowled, pointing authoritatively toward the door. "Just GO!"

"And you called _me _an asshole. Yes sir, Hokage-_sama_."

Akamaru followed Kiba out of the room, but not before stealing one of Naruto's rice cakes off his big fancy new desk.

------------------

The North border sucked. Nothing but trees, bugs, a very cold Inuzuka, and more trees.

"Stupid village. Stupid Naruto. Stupid......that's a big bug. Akamaru, did you see that bug?!"

Kiba had lost Akamaru to sleep a long time ago, and was left alone to his foot-long inchworm. "DAMN, that's a huge bug! Where the hell is Shino when you fucking need the guy?"

That was when he heard the screaming for the first time.

It was definitely male - too high pitched to be a Nara, too low pitched to be an Uchiha.

Not enough panic to be shock, not long enough to have been expected.

It was anywhere from 80 to 90 feet away from Kiba's post, and seemed to be coming from the Southwest.

These were the things that Kiba absolutely, without a doubt, knew about the scream.

It was what he didn't know that bothered him.

Like why, or exactly where, or who.

But he could smell blood on the air now, and the North border was looking more and more like a waste of time, if you asked him.

----

Each step he took was another question.

Was there a weapon?

(Was this even worth his time?)

Was that shadow moving?

Should he have woken up Akamaru? Damnit, he should have brought him with him.

Did he have enough Shuriken for this?

What about Kunai?

Was he.....heading toward the Hyuuga compound?

The blood seemed to be both entering and leaving the circle of land that the Hyuuga called home, and led right toward the center of Konoha - and if Kiba's nose was anywhere near right, it stopped between ANBU headquarters, and Naruto's tower.

Leaving Kiba with three possibilities - either a Hyuuga had attacked the Hokage (not likely, of course, but he had to take it into account), an ANBU agent had been attacked and ran toward the Hyuuga compound (also not likely, since few Hyuuga joined ANBU anyway),

or, the one Kiba liked least of all,

a Hyuuga had been attacked by an ANBU agent.

He took a deep breath before following the scent, making sure not to attract too much attention from the nearby patrolmen, who were-

wait a minute.

Nearby patrolmen?

Kiba paused, turning again to look over his shoulder at the three Hyuuga.

If he hadn't know any better, he'd swear they were intentionally looking the wrong way. Or they were doing that creepy beyond all reason 'eyes through the back of their head' thing. Kiba hated that.

----

It took Kiba almost 20 minutes to find his way to ANBU headquarters - something no civilian, or even novice shinobi, was supposed to be able to find.

"Guess they never protected this shit against an Inuzuka's nose."

The door didn't look like a door at all - it had been painted to look like wood that had rotten away, and after 5 minutes of fumbling with the boards, Kiba finally found a handhold.

"it's been almost 45 minutes since I heard it...."

And if Kiba had imagined the whole things altogether - if this whole fucking thing was an ANBU rep injured on patrol or something, Kiba could lose his rank for this.

But something just felt wrong. There was too much blood - too much fear - in the air.

Too much question.

So he pulled the rotted wood away from the entrance, stepping inside ANBU headquarters for the first time.


	4. Chapter 4 Root

It was nothing like what Kiba had expected, actually.

The walls had been left the color of slate, and there was a mile worth of tunnel that he had to follow before he even found anything that looked like an office, or a room.

And when he finally did, his jaw dropped.

He wasn't in ANBU at all. No no.

Kiba had just stumbled, somehow, into Root headquarters.

"Holy shit, I am so fucking dead."

There was no official way of telling, unless you counted the filing cabinets. There were about 300 of them in the room Kiba had found alone, and each one - if Kiba remembered right - had files on every shinobi (maybe even civi) in Konoha.

Age, hair color, favorite food, greatest accomplishment, greatest weakness, family, enemies, what they wore, clan names, even the easiest way to kill them.

It was all here.

And the only people who had access to them were Root agents. It all fit.

He remembered Sai - pale and emotionless, probably from spending so much of his damned time underground.

Under fucking ground.

How could he have been so stupid?

And he would have left right then, too. Any smarter ninja would have.

If it hadn't been for the file left open on the desk.

"Hyuuga, Neji. Number 0427, Jounnin Rank. 17-D 6-C 4-B 2-A, reference number 740082954....holy shit."

Kiba dropped the file, making certain to close and position it properly on the table-top.

Was it possible that Neji had been their target tonight? But for what?

Root, once upon a time, had been the spine of Konoha - the name itself was meant to symbolize the roots of the village - but they hadn't really been very active these past years.

Especially after Tsunade took her position as Hokage. Come to think of it, the third Hokage had been the last to seat Danzou as an advisor.

That is, unless you counted the house heads. As far as Kiba knew, the last clan official to seek Danzou had been.....

"Hiashi."

The tunnel took Kiba 2 miles at least before forking off, and Kiba could taste the blood now - thick with fresh iron, which meant whoever they had taken was definitely younger than Hiashi.

Neji's file was still fresh in his mind, whether he wanted to think about it or not.

He took a right, down _another _fucking tunnel - this one, at least, was lined with torches. Newly lit too; a good sign.

And just about 15 feet down the tunnel, completely unguarded, was a door.

"Just hang on a few more minutes, whoever the hell you are. Too late to back out now, any fucking way."


	5. Chapter 5 What you know

Amaru had been a member of Root for 23 years, after September. Needless to say, he was pretty accustomed to these missions.

Usually, they were a grab-and-bag deal - the kind of thing it only took 1 or 2 members to handle. But this one was different.

This time, they were going after a Hyuuga - and everybody knew that that would take more than a couple of finely tuned Chuunin.

Amaru and his partner, Inaro, would be going on this one alone.

Especially with him being the damned prodigy and all.

"How much is this guy paying us, again?"

Amaru shook his head, motioning to an unconscious Neji - who had been tied facing the far wall. "This one has nothing to do with money, I hear. Apparently, he was planning on assassinating the Hokage - not sure how the hell he planned on going about it, so soon after the coronation and all."

Inaro shrugged without looking up, still focused on the back of Neji's head. "Do you think he can see us?"

Amaru looked up, searching the Hyuuga for signs of conscieness. The lights Root had hung were unbearably bright - the room had after all been used for interrogations, just a few months ago.

"I dunno - pretty sure he's still knocked out."

"Just figured, maybe...." Inaro smiled, walking toward Neji almost soundlessly. "I think I'm going to have some fun with him."

It had been over an hour since they had brought the Hyuuga back to headquarters, and Amaru had figured it'd be alright to treat his partner to a few drinks, for good measure. He was beginning to realize now what kind of a bad idea that was.

"Leave him alone, Inaro."

"No no, I wanna play with him. I wanna hear him scream....."

It was no use, and Amaru really didn't care one way or the other. As soon as Danzou gave the word, they'd be ordered to kill the Hyuuga anyway. "Just clean the fuck up afterwards. I'm not getting in trouble over this."

Amaro shook his head, laughing as he turned to leave the room. Before the door closed behind him, he could already hear his partner with the traitor - this was not uncommon, really; they entered the same cycle every time they had a mission alone, and it usually ended in their assignment dying before the order was given.

Not that it ever got them into trouble.

---

Amaru didn't get 3 feet out the door before his face hit the floor.

"Alright Root-man, what the hell do we have here?"

"INTRU-"

Kiba clamped a hand over Amaru's mouth, his upper lip curled back.

"I'm only going to ask you this once; who the fuck did you take? Which Hyuuga did you take?"

He knew even before the shinobi had opened his mouth, and he dropped the man in a panic. "What the fuck is the _matter_ with you people?!"

Amaru had never anticipated a rouge ninja - least of all an Inuzuka. Root had never had a problem with interruptions before, and the idea of Danzou discovering their failure would be fatal. "The Hyuuga is a traitor, Inuzuka; whatever you have heard- "

Kiba ignored him, using a nearby torch to keep the Jounin away. "Is he in there? Is he in that room?"

The sound of breaking glass, and the smell of fresh blood, confirmed Kiba's suspicions.

The door swung open before Inaro had ever noticed that his partner was gone.

"Fucking scream, you proud son of a bitch!"

Inaro had broken what looked like a bottle of Nara moonshine - that had been the sound, Kiba was sure.

And Neji....oh fuck, Neji.

He had been knocked sideways onto the floor - most of his clothes were either torn or completely gone, and what was left just didn't look right at all.

Red, instead of white.

Black instead of grey.

Dirty, and covered in stolen moonshine and his own blood. Kiba had been right.

Inaro and Amaru never made it to Danzou. Instead, Kiba left them tied to the back wall in Neji's place.

----

He waited until he had made it outside the room, into the darker tunnel, figuring it would be a more calming place to ask Neji-

"What.....why are you.....just, what's going on, Nej?"

Not that he expected much of a response anyway, but it seemed like the right thing to ask.

He had to do _something_.

But since Neji wasn't going to answer him anyway, Kiba took the opportunity to rip apart Neji's old uniform, using what was left as gauze for his arms and right shoulder.

"...Are you coming on to me, Inuzuka?"

Of all the things he could have said, that was the last thing Kiba had expected. "A little, maybe."

And that was it.

They sat in the tunnel for maybe an hour, before Akamaru finally found them there; laughing.


	6. Chapter 6 Hyuugazuka

Believe it or not, that's how it began.

The next week was mostly interrogations for both of them - for Kiba, it was how and why he ended up in Root in the first place.

Not that he was in trouble, but damned if the village was cocky enough to be embarrassed that a chunnin infiltrated their greatest secret.

For Neji, it was the same question - only with more severe consequences for a wrong answer.

It ended up being some kind of extreme misunderstanding between Hiashi and Root - apparently, they had been told that Hyuuga Neji was planning on assassinating the Hokage. A sad and sorry excuse, as well as a nearly impossible reason for any orginazation to act out on their own without ANBU captain support.

But when asked about this, Neji shook his head - stating that he would never kill the Hokage. He had, in fact, threatened his own uncle that morning; if it was any consolation and NOT his own Hokage. "Funny how you might hear this foolishness from someone who wanted the position so very badly, isn't it?"

When Ibiki realized that he wasn't being taken seriously, he sent the Hyuuga home.

Neji never went home, of course.

He wanted retaliation for this humiliation - and there was one very easy way to get it, without getting himself into more trouble

-------

"...You want to do _what_, now?"

Kiba was dumbstruck, standing with one hand on the frame of his apartment door for support.

Neji had come right out with it.

"I would like to explore the relationship we discovered, in the tunnel."

".....You want to do _what_, now?"

"I shouldn't have to repeat myself, Inuzuka."

Kiba laughed, more a nervous chuckle than anything.

"So let me get this straight - you want me to....beat the shit out of you?"

"No no, Inuzuka - I want you to," he paused to clear his throat. "I would like for you to come on to me."

Kiba died a little. Right then.

His skin turned three shades of red, and he choked on nothing in particular.

"Are you even _gay?!"_

"That's not really the point here. This has nothing to do with you and I."

"Actually I think it has a LOT to do with us. I think it has everything to do with us!"

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I am trying to make this as painless as possible."

Kiba shrugged, turning to face his door frame again. Painless as possible? The fucker was acting like this was some kind of chore. "Go ahead."

Again, Neji cleared his throat.

"Our families would never be caught dead associating with each other."

"Yeah, I guess - you're family's kinda- "

"Anyway. Right now, I would like nothing more than to, well." He was digging for the right words.

Kiba decided to help.

"Embarrass the living shit out of your uncle for what happened to you? And you figure there's no better way than to fuck someone he thinks is dirt. Right, asshole?"

Neji smiled. "Precisely."

There was an uneasy silence, which lasted about 5 seconds before Kiba turned sideways and extended an arm. "Step into my office, Neji."

-----------

It went on like that for about a month.

And true to Neji's plan, Hiashi even had a hard time passing by the Inuzuka compound without cringing anymore.

What with his brother's only son walking between the two clans smelling like dead animal,

and covered with secondhand face-paint. It was just disgraceful!

Not to mention one of the most disgusting things he had ever seen.

And Neji wouldn't have had it any other way. To tell the truth, neither would Kiba - Neji was nothing like he had expected.

No no, he had expected a self righteous, prissy little son of a bitch with a tight ass and a big fucking mouth.

He _did _ have a big fucking mouth, but behind closed doors Neji was more delicate than anything. Maybe that had something to do with Kiba's constant need to be near him.

Neji had expected a mindless, bull-headed animal in man's clothing - and was pleasantly surprised when Kiba turned out to be more down to Earth (if not a little more stubborn) than he had thought.

Nobody else knew about their plan; not that suspicions weren't abundant. Most of Konoha had caught onto Neji's scorn, but for Kiba to participate seemed too farfetched for most everybody who knew him.

Kiba, above anything else, hated being anybody's lap dog.

Things became especially hard for Kiba's friendship with Shino - who had no particular problem with Neji,

but hated the idea that the Hyuuga might be using his team mate.

Not to mention the way he had humiliated Hinata during the Chuunin exams.

"Aint you ever gonna let that go, Shino?"

"Have you, Kiba?"

"Well...no actually, not really. But it's not like he's our enemy - he's shinobi, just like the rest of us."

Shino was quiet.

"Kiba....what's going on? This isn't like you."

And Kiba smiled, because secrets were kinda fun when you played 'em right. "You have no idea, Shino. No idea."

In reality, Kiba was more in control of the whole mess than even Neji wanted to admit.

And to prove it, he decided it was time to take Neji out with a group of old friends.


	7. Chapter 7 Hyuugas can't hold sake'

"You sure that you're allowed to come with us, Hokage-sama?"

Naruto pouted, crossing his arms firmly over his new robes. "Y'know, technically I could have you thrown off a cliff or something for questioning me, Shikamaru."

Sasuke exhaled loudly, shaking his head as he followed behind his Kage. "Can we not turn this outing into another circus? I've had more than enough of your ridiculous 'orders'."

"Hey HEY! What ridiculous orders?!"

"Naruto, really? You wouldn't call the-" Sasuke took a moment to open a small scroll he had been carrying in his kunai-case. "- 70 cups of instant ramen you had delivered to your quarters this morning ridiculous?"

"I call them necessary, Sasuke."

"And the 3 meetings you called before lunch?!"

"Also necessary. Weren't you listening?"

Sasuke wasn't looking at the scroll, anymore. "....and the......._things_ you had me do during those meetings?"

Chouji almost choked on his sake.

"Why do you think I called the meetings in the first place?"

Sasuke immediately motioned for the bartender to send him a drink - anything would be fine, so long as it would get him good and drunk. Fast.

---

Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, and Neji had all found refuge from the chaos at the far end of the bar, where Chouji was already three drinks from gone.

"And then I was all, HEY! YOU! Who are you.....are you gonna finish that, Shika?"

Shikamaru shook his head, not an answer - more like frustration, and slid the half empty bottle toward his team mate. "How am I going to explain this to your father, Chouji?"

"Easy." He took a long drink from the bottle of moonshine, wiping his mouth dry with the back of his hand."

"Yeah Shika - just be too drunk to explain." Kiba laughed, taking the bottle from Chouji with a smile. "That's how I get outta' shit."

"Why does that not surprise me, Inuzuka?"

"Because, Nej - you're a Hyuuga. Hyuuga are stuck up, and think they know everything about everybody."

Kiba wasn't going to be able to smile his way out of that one. Neji just about snatched the bottle from away, taking a loooong swig for himself.

Nobody else spoke.

"No Kiba, what you fail to grasp is that we DO know everything about everyone. It's what makes us superior."

Chouji laughed, Kiba sneered, and Shika kept to shaking his head. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if we stuck Neji and Sasuke in a room together."

Neji didn't seem to hear him, but Kiba was practically on his back laughing. "They'd either kill each other, or swap conditioner. I'd buy tickets, that's for damned sure."

------

It was after midnight now - about the time when everyone started to get too damned drunk to stand.

This was the time of night Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo always headed toward their favorite bar. Unfortunately, it was the only bar in Konoha; unless you counted the Nara house (as if nobody knew about the moonshine they kept there).

But they walked into a very different bar that night.

Konohagakure's great Hokage, the stability of their village - the very root of their power,

was passed out cold under a bar stool, lying half-naked next to an almost fully naked Sasuke.

Just a few bar-stools down, Chouji was (somehow) still conscious, but had possibly grown gills - as his head was mostly submerged in a pitcher of rice-sake.

Shikamaru and Kiba seemed almost completely sober, if you ignored the color in their cheeks.

And Hyuuga Neji?

Was trying like hell to get between Kiba's legs - his eyes out of focus, and his face flushed a deep burgundy.

"Inuzuka Kiba, you lem'me in this instant!"

How he was still able to stand, Genma couldn't tell - but it was obvious that Kiba needed another set of hands.

"Nej c'mon - I fucking told you it was too strong! Shika, a little help?"

"You're on your own, Kiba - he's your Hyuuga."

"Lem'me in!"

Suddenly, Neji's weight shifted changed. He smiled drunkenly, letting his legs give out from beneath him.

And if Kiba's reflexes weren't above average, Neji's plan might not have worked. But as soon as Kiba caught him, Neji's arms began to explore beneath the Inuzuka's jacket. Shikamaru was laughing, now.

"Serves you right, y'know."

"Shika! He's trying to- !"

"Inuzuka Kiba, you have - this is a nice chest, did you know?"

Kotetsu and Izumo had already made quick work of the Hokage and his consort, and took off at a run out of the bar. They seemed to be under the impression that they were protecting Konoha's integrity.

Genma wrapped both arms tightly around Neji, trying to pry him away from Kiba.

Unfortunately, his aim (even drunk) seemed to be pretty good. Genma stumbled away from the bar, cupping his right eye and cursing vividly.

Neji, on the other hand, had gone back to exploring Kiba's very flushed,

very bare,

chest.

And Kiba didn't seem to mind, anymore.

"Shikamaru! Help me get them out of here before they get all of us thrown out!"

"...But then, who's going to save Chouji if he drowns?"

"Get over here!"

Shika sighed, realizing how very stuck he was to the task at hand. "This is such a drag."

It took them almost half an hour to finally drag the two outside.

Kiba seemed sober enough to bring Neji back to the Inuzuka compound with him (which was just fine with Genma, who was well above his usual level of patience - and without a single drink); while Shikamaru escorted an unconscious (finally) Chouji back home.

While pretending to be drunk, so that he couldn't explain himself.

---------------------

The next morning was too fucking bright.

Neji could barely block out the sun streaming through the window, and he couldn't find the damned sheet.

Where were his sheets? He always wrapped them and set them right.....

The feeling of skin against skin jolted Neji, almost right out of a bed that was, in fact, _not_ his.

Beside him, completely naked and reeking of stale sake, was Inuzuka Kiba.

At any other moment in time, under any other circumstances (and devoid of influential substances) Neji might have found lying in the arms of an Inuzuka repulsive.

But for one reason or another (he may even blame the hang over later), Neji stayed.


	8. Chapter 8 And then there was Winter

**And then, there was winter**

As if things hadn't already been a mess, their night of binge drinking had ended in chaos,  
and the morning after had been little less than humiliating, if he remembered right;  
starting with Kiba thinking that Neji's body had been...well, a pillow (kinda), and ending with a very unhappy Hyuuga stealing his best pair of slacks and storming out in a huff.  
You'd figure after all their afternoons fucking, a little extracurricular groping wouldn't be such a bad thing.  
In actuality, Neji had been lying awake for maybe more than an hour - but the excuse to leave in such a hurry had been much appreciated; he'd have to thank the Inuzuka for it, someday.

The next couple of weeks were mostly uneventful; Stone had sent two cells to Sand, and Kiba had to take a team down for damage control.  
And of course, NOTHING happened while he was there.  
Not a damned thing.  
By the time they had finally crossed the desert, Kiba's cell was ready to mutiny (thank fuck for Lee's negotiating abilites and giant death-defying hugs of happy), and the situation had already been taken care of by an unhappy Kazekage. You had to admire Gaara's ability to bury an entire 12 man division by himself, that was for sure.  
And maybe they should have stayed for a little while, just to be on the safe side, but it was HOT,  
and boring,  
and if they had stayed, chances were good that Kankuro, the great and mighty over-achiever, would put their scrawny asses to work. Kiba HATED work that he could get out of.  
Their biggest mistake was that they waited until dark, to avoid the heat.

Naruto still wasn't amazing with organizing teams, yet - not that he didn't know his shinobi. Just that sometimes he had a hard time putting two and two together.  
When putting a team together for desert hopping, sandstorm avoidance, and long-distance travel you have to be very particular -- and if Kiba hadn't known better, he'd say that his Hokage had just decided to pull names from a hat.  
There was Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, Ten-Ten, and Ino (who had to be carried for most of their journey up). It was awful.  
Worst of all, Kiba was the only long-distance surveillance the team had, unless they wanted to waste time sending Shino's bugs for miles. Even Akamaru had to stay close most of the time, with the group constantly running headlong into pocketed storms.  
Now, it was certainly a LOT easier for Kiba to keep track of everything in the dark - even his hearing seemed to be better on their return trip,  
but the rest of his team were completely useless once the sun had set. And by now, Akamaru's eyes and ears were so full of sand and wind that he was might as well have been sleepwalking beside his partner, poor little guy.  
It was only a matter of time before Kiba fucked up. Nobody can hold guard all by themselves like that.

-------------------------------------------

"You're really gonna' tell me that there's just...nothing? NOTHING? C'mon, it's been a month, now!"  
Naruto turned quickly to pace in the opposite direction.  
"We've got three teams out there looking, Hokage-sama. We have to assume that they've just gotten lost - as far as the Kazekage can tell, there were no obvious signs of aggression from Stone that da -"  
"Obvious. Right." Naruto was pretty sure that Gaara couldn't see the whole damned desert by himself, and that Stone probably had shinobi spread evenly throughout, if they were STILL active. So why shouldn't he be afraid that they had his team?  
Torturing them, maybe - and all Genma could tell him  
for sure  
was that Stone never outwardly attacked Sand, that day. Awesome. Fucking awesome.  
"Have we sent any of the teams West, toward the mountains?" Genma shook his head, sending a short troubled glance toward Sasuke; who had been sitting nearby writing notes on a small map.  
"Naruto, as far as I know? The Mountains collapsed a few years ago, remember?"  
"No they didn't." First thing Sasuke had said all morning, circling an expand of dark color on the map. "That was here, Genma - the Mountains toward the Southwest are still standing, last I heard." He hadn't taken his eyes off of the parchment, running a finger from Sand to Leaf. "Although I have to Say, Naruto, if they actually went West instead of East? They were _terribly_ turned around - I can't see Kiba making that kind of mistake, not even in a sandstorm." He was glaring down at the map, as though hoping that the five missing shinobi would wave up at him from a cave or hand-drawn sand-dune.  
"I don't figure they got lost, Sasuke - I think." He stopped pacing, turning toward the window before bringing a hand down onto his desk, startling Genma. He had dark circles under his eyes from a terrible lack of sleep, which stood out noticeably against his now fire red eyes. "I think someone took them there."  
Nobody else had wanted to say it, so maybe it was good that Naruto did, first.  
"I'll talk to Sai - try and get a special ops team together. If they're there, Hokage-sama, we'll find them. I promise."  
Genma, who was really getting too old for this, left the room as quickly as he could - already bracing himself for his next assignment. Ever since Sai had taken over Root things had been much more smooth of course, but Sai had become colder, almost. Distant, and rarely talked about Naruto in more than a whisper; a lot of things had changed, hadn't they?

----------------------------------------------------

They were kept apart from each other, in seperate caves even  
maybe.  
The only thing Kiba knew for sure was that Ino was alive - because sometimes, he could hear them interrogating her, from someplace far away. He couldn't be sure how big this place was,  
or where it was,  
or WHAT it was. Or even of who it was that had captured them, though he wanted to believe that it was Stone. Please be Stone.  
Please let the hissing and the smell of venom be a lie, because GOD he hadn't been active in years,  
and it was winter.  
Oro wouldn't. Not while his tunnels were frozen soild....right?  
Right.

.....wrong.


End file.
